Pakistan’s Supreme Court confronts General Pervez Musharraf on the eve of the country’s presidential election

AP

PAKISTAN’S Supreme Court has thrown a last-minute spanner in the works, calling into doubt the eligibility of General Pervez Musharraf to run for president on the eve of an election on Saturday October 6th. The court became the focal point of popular agitation in July, when it reinstated its maverick chief justice, Iftikhar Chaudhry, whom Pakistan’s General Musharraf, had sacked in March. It has since crossed swords with the general on several occasions.

On Friday it dealt the president, who is seeking election, the worst hand possible. Late in September, in a six-three judgment, it had rejected a clutch of petitions against General Musharraf